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[First published in the Fantastic Worlds of ERB, #47, Spring-Summer 2000)

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Chapter 1 - Tarzan’s First Love

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I. One of the members of a family absents himself from home.
Tarzan finds Teeka, a young female ape, to be a vision of loveliness. He is an orphan child who was raised by apes. He envies Teeka’s handsome coat of hair, her great teeth, her beetling brows and broad flat nose, and her mouth!

II. An interdiction is addressed to the hero.
Tarzan is annoyed when another ape, Taug, caresses Teeka. He claims her, but Taug replies, “Teeka is Taug's!”

III. The interdiction is violated, and a villain enters the tale
Tarzan fights Taug for Teeka, and she is delighted.

IV. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance.
Sheeta, the leopard sees that Teeka is vulnerable as the two heroes fight over her.

V. The villain receives information about his victim. (Definition: delivery)
She is separated from the battle.

VI. The villain attempts to deceive his victim in order to take possession of him or of his belongings.
Sheeta slinks through the jungle to reach Teeka.

VII. The victim submits to deception and thereby unwittingly helps his enemy.
Teeka is too busy enjoying the fight over her to notice the leopard.

VIII. The villain causes harm or injury to a member of a family.
This function is exceptionally important, since by means of it the actual movement of the tale is created. Absentation, the violation of interdiction, delivery, the success of a deceit, all prepare the way for this function, create its possibility of occurrence, or simply facilitate its happening. Therefore, the first seven functions may be regarded as the preparatory part of the tale, whereas the complication is begun by an act of villainy. The forms of villainy are exceedingly varied.
Tarzan notices the danger to Teeka and ropes the great cat, preventing the kill, but he is chased up a tree. For the time being, Teeka chooses to sit beside Tarzan.

VIIIa. One member of a family either lacks something or desires to have something.
Tarzan goes off to hunt, and while he is gone Teeka grooms Taug. Upon his return he sees that he has lost her and goes sadly into the jungle.

IX. Misfortune or lack is made known; the hero is approached with a request or command; he is allowed to go or he is dispatched.

This function brings the hero into the tale.
Tarzan watches Mbonga’s warriors build a cage on the jungle trail. Taug gets trapped in the cage. When Tarzan discovers Taug’s plight, he is pleased because now he can have Teeka for his own.

X. The seeker agrees to or decides upon counteraction.
A volitional decision, of course, precedes the search.
Tarzan tells Teeka that the Gomangani have Taug. When she puts her arm around him, he notices that they are different beings. He beats his chest and gives the cry of the victorious bull ape, then goes to rescue Taug.

XI. The hero leaves home.
Unlike the first absence element, this one is marked with a search for a goal.
He finds the tired warriors asleep on the jungle trail.

XII. The hero is tested, interrogated, attacked, etc., which prepares the way for his receiving either a magical agent or helper
Tarzan strangles one of the guards to death. He frees Taug and tells him to go back to Teeka. “Tarzan is a man. He will go alone.”

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Chapter 2 - The Capture of Tarzan

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Chapter 2 continues the story begun in chapter 1.
The natives dig a pit in the jungle trail. Tarzan watches them, but does not guess the purpose of the pit. When the natives leave, he inspects the trap.
Tarzan meets his friend, Tantor, the elephant. He spends some time with him, then goes off in search of food. While he is away, the purpose of the pit occurs to him. It is to capture his friend, Tantor!

XIII. The hero reacts to the actions of the future donor.
He performs a service of some kind, such as showing mercy.
Tarzan immediately flies through the trees to warn Tantor of the trap.

XIV. The hero acquires the use of a magical agent.
This may be a capacity, such as the power of transformation into animals, etc., or an agent is eaten or drunk.
On the way, Tarzan is charged by Buto, the rhinocerous, but he escapes by his agility and speed.

XV. The hero is transferred, delivered, or led to the whereabouts of an object of search.
Generally the object of search is located in “another” or “different” kingdom. This kingdom may lie far away horizontally, or else very high up or deep down vertically. He may fly through the air or find a stairway or underground passageway.
The warriors frighten Tantor to cause him to run toward the pit with Tarzan close behind.

XVI. The hero and the villain join in direct combat.
In humorous tales the fight itself sometimes does not occur. The hero and the villain may engage in a competition . The hero wins with the help of cleverness.
Tarzan drops directly in front of the charging elephant and commands him to stop. He kicks aside some branches and shows Tantor the pit. Tantor, realizing the danger, turns away and runs into the jungle to safety. Tarzan has foiled the plans of the natives.

XVII. The hero is branded.
Tarzan stamps on the trap, and the earth suddenly give way. He falls into the pit, strikes his head and is knocked unconscious. Fortunately he did not land on any of the sharpened stakes, but he is marked by a swollen spot at the base of the brain.

XVIII. The villain is defeated.
The natives bind him, and carry him back to the village. The hero is momentarily defeated instead of the villain.

XIX. The initial misfortune or lack is liquidated.
The natives prick him with spears, but Tarzan shows no evidence of suffering, so they half believe that he is a supernatural being immune to pain.

XX. The hero returns. Sometimes return has the nature of fleeing.
The hero is returned to the native village, the place he had appeared at night to kill the natives.

XXI. The hero is pursued.
Tantor gives a shrill cry to Tarzan, one he understands. Tarzan replies with his own terrifying scream.

XXII. Rescue of the hero from pursuit.
From this point onward, the development of the narrative proceeds differently, and the tale gives new functions.
The cannibals prepare for their evening feast. Tarzan works hi s bonds loose all afternoon, and when they finally tie him to the stake, he breaks loose with a single, powerful wrench.

XXIII. The hero, unrecognized, arrives home or in another country.
Sometimes the initial villainy is repeated, sometimes in the same forms as in the beginning.
Tarzan escapes from his bonds in the native village.

XXIV. A false hero presents unfounded claims.
A special case . . .
The natives plans for a feast are suddenly ended.

XXV. A difficult task is proposed to the hero.
These ordeals are so varied that each would need a special designation.
Only one with the almost superhuman strength of a Tarzan could have broken the bonds.

XXVI. The task is resolved.
Tarzan fights a battle with half a hundred natives.

XXVII. The hero is recognized.
This may be a special mark or a simple recognition of accomplishments.
Tarzan holds them off for a half an hour when one one them finally works his way to a point where he can spear him.

XXVIII. The false hero or villain is exposed.
Just as the final villainy is about to happen a thunderous crashing comes from the jungle just beyond the palisade.

XXIX. The hero is given a new appearance.
Transfiguration. Sometimes a change of dress.
Tantor bursts through the barrier as though it were built of straw.

XXX. The villain is punished.
In parallel with this we sometimes have a magnanimous pardon. Usually only the villain of the second move and the false hero are punished, while the first villain is punished only in those cases in which a battle and pursuit are absent from the story.
Tantor hurls the warriors right and left, then removes Tarzan from the village riding on his broad head.

XXXI. The hero is married and ascends the throne.
Tantor cements even more closely the friendship that had existed between them since Tarzan was a boy.
Since the linkage of these two chapters completely satisfies Propp’s functions, we may assume they must be considered to be one story.

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Chapter 3 - The Fight for the Balu

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I. One of the members of a family absents himself from home.
Sometimes members of the younger generation absent themselves -- they go visiting.
Teeka had become the mother of a balu, a baby. Tarzan was more interested in the fact than Taug, the father. Teeka was no longer interested in playing childish games, and Tarzan felt abandoned.

II. An interdiction is addressed to the hero.
Tarzan tries to touch Teeka’s balu, she bites him. She says, “Go away, or I will kill you.”

III. The interdiction is violated, and a villain enters the tale
Tarzan persists despite Teeka’s warning saying, “Let me see it.”

IV. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance.
Taug had heard the warnings and threats of his mate and comes to her succor.

V. The villain receives information about his victim. (Definition: delivery)
Tarzan and Taug had once measured strength, and Tarzan had been victorious. Taug would remember this, but he might readily face another defeat for his first-born.
Tarzan ropes Taug and pulls him into a tree hanging head downward thirty feet above the ground. Teeka sees an implacable foe in Tarzan, always heretofore her best friend.

VI. The villain attempts to deceive his victim in order to take possession of him or of his belongings.
The other bull apes begin to abuse poor Taug, and Tarzan fights one until it falls to his death.

VII. The victim submits to deception and thereby unwittingly helps his enemy.
As Tarzan frees Taug from the rope, Teeka is so interested in the scene that she places her balu on the ground.

VIII. The villain causes harm or injury to a member of a family.
This function is exceptionally important, since by means of it the actual movement of the tale is created. Absentation, the violation of interdiction, delivery, the success of a deceit, all prepare the way for this function, create its possibility of occurrence, or simply facilitate its happening. Therefore, the first seven functions may be regarded as the preparatory part of the tale, whereas the complication is begun by an act of villainy. The forms of villainy are exceedingly varied.
Sheeta, the leopard, see the helpless balu and begins worming his way stealthily forward, his belly close to the ground.

VIIIa. One member of a family either lacks something or desires to have something.
Tarzan sees the leopard and runs toward the balu. Teeka thinks he is after her baby, but she also spies the leopard.

IX. Misfortune or lack is made known; the hero is approached with a request or command; he is allowed to go or he is dispatched.
This function brings the hero into the tale.
Tarzan and Sheeta stand on either side of the balu baring their fangs and snarling at each other over the little creature.

X. The seeker agrees to or decides upon counteraction.
A volitional decision, of course, precedes the search.
Tarzan attacks the leopard, followed by Taug and the rest of the bull apes. They tear Sheeta to pieces. After the battle, Teeka lets Tarzan hold her balu. Both Teeka and Taug clean Tarzan’s wounds.

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Chapter 4 - The God of Tarzan

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XI. The hero leaves home.
Unlike the first absence element, this one is marked with a search for a goal.
Tarzan had taught himself how to read, but he puzzled over the meaning of the word, "God.”

XII. The hero is tested, interrogated, attacked, etc., which prepares the way for his receiving either a magical agent or helper
Tarzan questions Mumga, a very old ape, about God. Another ape, Numgo, tells Tarzan that the power that made the lightning and the rain and the thunder came from Goro, the moon.

XIII. The hero reacts to the actions of the future donor.
Tarzan decides to investigate the moon.

XIV. The hero acquires the use of a magical agent.
This may be a capacity, such as the power of transformation into animals, etc., or an agent is eaten or drunk. Magical agents or words may be employed.
Tarzan climbs the tallest tree in the jungle and calls to the moon, asking if it is God. He uses the word Bulamutumumo for “God.”

XV. The hero is transferred, delivered, or led to the whereabouts of an object of search.
Generally the object of search is located in “another” or “different” kingdom. This kingdom may lie far away horizontally, or else very high up or deep down vertically. He may fly through the air or find a stairway or underground passageway.
Since the moon does not answer him, Tarzan decides to search for God at the village of Mbonga. He sees the witch doctor perform strange ceremonies and decides that he must be God.

XVI. The hero and the villain join in direct combat.
In humorous tales the fight itself sometimes does not occur. The hero and the villain may engage in a competition . The hero wins with the help of cleverness.
Tarzan drops from the trees directly in front of the witch doctor and asks him, “Are you God.” The witch doctor tries several spells on Tarzan to make him go way, including saying “Boo!” at him.

XVII. The hero is branded.
Tarzan is bitten and scratched in the encounter, but it is not a great issue in this story.

XVIII. The villain is defeated.
Finally, the witch doctor draws a line on the ground and tells Tarzan that he cannot step over it. Tarzan comes toward the witch doctor, and he runs away in terror. Tarzan pulls off his buffalo head disguise and finds that he is only a cringing man.

XIX. The initial misfortune or lack is liquidated.
Tarzan twists the witch doctor’s neck until he passes out, then gives the victorious cry of the bull ape.

XX. The hero returns. Sometimes return has the nature of fleeing.
Tarzan takes the zebra tail from the unconscious man and retraces his footsteps across the village.

XXI. The hero is pursued.
Mbonga thinks this would be a good opportunity to get rid of his old enemy, Tarzan, so he stalks him with a spear.

XXII. Rescue of the hero from pursuit.
From this point onward, the development of the narrative proceeds differently, and the tale gives new functions.
Tarzan smells Mbonga coming, so he dodges the spear cast. Tarzan, growling like Numa, the lion, chases a terrified Mbonga. Just Tarzan is about to cut his throat, he has pity on the frightened, old man and lets him live. Tarzan wonders at the strange power which had stayed his hand.

XXIII. The hero, unrecognized, arrives home or in another country.
Sometimes the initial villainy is repeated, sometimes in the same forms as in the beginning.
Tarzan returns home somewhat changed. Tarzan could not understand, for he could conceive of nothing, or no one, with the authority to dictate to him what he should do, or what he should refrain from doing.

XXIV. A false hero presents unfounded claims.
A special case . . .
Tarzan meditates upon the causes and nature of creation.

XXV. A difficult task is proposed to the hero.
These ordeals are so varied that each would need a special designation.
Histah, the snake, a gigantic python, has taken Teeka’s baby, Gazan.

XXVI. The task is resolved.
Tarzan sees Teeka attacking the monster even though she is deathly afraid of snakes. Tarzan slays Histah and saves both Teeka and Gazan.

XXVII. The hero is recognized.
This may be a special mark or a simple recognition of accomplishments.
After the battle the apes silently turn away to resume feeding, as does Teeka as though nothing unusual had happened. This is very striking since some form of praise or recognition occurs at this point in tales dealing with humans.

XXVIII. The false hero or villain is exposed.
Tarzan does not give the victory cry over the vanquished Histah.

XXIX. The hero is given a new appearance.
Transfiguration.
Tarzan ponders all these events and decides that God must be the one who sent Teeka to slay the snake, and it was God who stayed his hand of death over the old man. Tarzan’s God is the source of good and the beautiful.

XXX. The villain is punished.
In parallel with this we sometimes have a magnanimous pardon. Usually only the villain of the second move and the false hero are punished, while the first villain is punished only in those cases in which a battle and pursuit are absent from the story.
Tarzan has found God, yet he wonders, “Who made Histah, the snake?”

XXXI. The hero is married and ascends the throne.
This story does not have a final step since the theme of Tarzan’s search for God will be taken up in other stories in this set. The themes in Jungle Tales have to do with Tarzan’s search for personal identity during his youth, and a strong element in this search is his discovery of the contrasts between true and false power in the world.
I would not have guessed that chapters 3 and 4 were at all linked, yet they fit into Propp’s functions so well that I believe they must be considered an example of a single folktale.

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Chapter Five - Tarzan and the Black Boy

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This tale begins with Propp’s function VIIIa, which is typical of ERB’s type of questing story.

VIIIa. One member of a family either lacks something or desires to have something.
Tarzan is repairing his rope that Sheeta has mangled. He is dreaming of capturing Numa, the lion, with his new rope. The apes are happily feeding around him.
Tarzan is allowed to play with Gazan ever since he rescued him in chapter three. Gazan steals his rope and carries it to Teeka. Tarzan chases him to retrieve the rope and tussles with him, but Teeka is not worried at this harmless play. Tarzan thinks that in time Gazan will be able to use a rope as he does.
Tarzan feels quite alone in the world and longs desperately for one who should turn first to him for succor and protection.
Tarzan ropes Horta, the boar, kills him with his knife and eats his hot and dripping heart.

IX. Misfortune or lack is made known; the hero is approached with a request or command; he is allowed to go or he is dispatched.
This function brings the hero into the tale. If a young girl is kidnapped, and disappears from the horizon of her father, and if Ivan goes off in search of her, then the hero of the tale is Ivan and not the kidnapped girl. Heroes of this type may be termed seekers.
Tarzan observes that all the creatures of the jungle have their own kind, except himself. He feels sad and lonely.

X. The seeker agrees to or decides upon counteraction.
A volitional decision, of course, precedes the search.
Tarzan goes questing for adventure toward the village of Mbonga. It was his son, Kulonga, who had slain Kala.

XI. The hero leaves home.
Unlike the first absence element, this one is marked with a search for a goal.
He finds a woman with her child farther down stream on the river that winds close beside the village. Tarzan thinks that the ten-year-old boy might make a fine balu for himself.

XII. The hero is tested, interrogated, attacked, etc., which prepares the way for his receiving either a magical agent or helper
Tarzan ropes the black boy and escapes into the trees with him before the mother can interfere. The boy is biting and scratching Tarzan.

XIII. The hero reacts to the actions of the future donor.
He performs a service of some kind, such as showing mercy.
Tarzan explains his good intentions to the boy in ape language, but it only frightens him because it sounds like the barking and growling of a beast. Tarzan decides to take Tibo, the Go-bu-balu or black-he-baby, to the tribe of Kerchak where he can learn to speak properly.

XIV. The hero acquires the use of a magical agent.
This may be a capacity, such as the power of transformation into animals, etc., or an agent is eaten or drunk.
Tarzan has the boy for his balu, but the child is terrified. Tarzan promises to take care of him, feed and protect him.

XV. The hero is transferred, delivered, or led to the whereabouts of an object of search.
Generally the object of search is located in “another” or “different” kingdom. This kingdom may lie far away horizontally, or else very high up or deep down vertically. He may fly through the air or find a stairway or underground passageway.
Tarzan carries Tibo through the trees to the Mangani.

XVI. The hero and the villain join in direct combat.
In humorous tales the fight itself sometimes does not occur. The hero and the villain may engage in a competition . The hero wins with the help of cleverness.
Tibo is more terrified than ever, but the exchange of remarks between Tarzan and the apes is a comic competition: abridged as follows:
Tarzan: This is Tarzan’s Go-bu-balu. Do not harm him, or Tarzan will kill you.
Ape: It is a Gomangani. Let me kill it.
Tarzan: Go away or Tarzan will kill you.
Teeka: It is a Gomangani. It will kill my balu. Take it away, Tarzan.
Tarzan: It could not harm Pamba, the rat. Let Gazan play with it.

XVII. The hero is branded.
Tarzan has to carry the nearly helpless boy everywhere or the apes will kill him. He is a great burden to Tarzan.

XVIII. The villain is defeated.
The boy never laughs and is growing thin since he refuses to eat. He sobs softly to himself and will not be comforted by Tarzan.

XIX. The initial misfortune or lack is liquidated.
Tibo grows to trust Tarzan, but he lacks “the divine spark” that the white, English boy, Tarzan had as a child.

XX. The hero returns. Sometimes return has the nature of fleeing.
Momaya, Tibo’s mother goes to the tribal witch-doctor for help in getting her son back, then finally to Bukawai, the unclean, who practiced black magic in a cave a short distance from the village. Bukawai lives with two hyenas thought to be devils masquerading. His face is slowly being eaten away by a loathsome disease.
Momaya is warned by a warrior, then threatened by Mbonga, the chief, not to go to see Bukawai, but she slips away by night.

XXI. The hero is pursued.
Momaya has become the hero of this tale, while Tarzan is the villain. Momaya is chased into a tree by a hunting lion. She even climbs “apelike, to the branches above” as Tarzan might.

XXII. Rescue of the hero from pursuit.
From this point onward, the development of the narrative proceeds differently, and the tale gives new functions.
Momaya is saved by her quickness.

XXIII. The hero, unrecognized, arrives home or in another country.
Sometimes the initial villainy is repeated, sometimes in the same forms as in the beginning.
Tarzan has to hunt with his Go-bu-balu farther from the apes because they are a constant menace to his life. The boy is growing thinner and weaker daily and he misses his mother.

XXIV. A false hero presents unfounded claims.
Upon observing a Sabor, a female lion, with a dead cub, Tarzan realizes that Momaya must be suffering at the loss of her child, and he winces at the suffering he has caused. He begins to see the true relationship between mother and child through “association of ideas” - Sabor and her cub; Momaya and Tibo; Teeka and Gazan.

XXV. A difficult task is proposed to the hero.
A terrified Momaya goes to the cave of Bukawai even after running away when she first approached the forbidden place. Momaya bargains with Bukawai for a spell, but she must return empty-handed because the witch doctor want the price paid before he will deliver.

XXVI. The task is resolved.
Tarzan is off hunting without Tibo. The boy sees his mother coming through the jungle and runs to her. They embrace with tears of joy.

XXVII. The hero is recognized.
Tarzan saves Momaya and Tibo from a lion, and so he becomes the hero of the story again.

XXVIII. The false hero or villain is exposed.
Tibo pleads with Tarzan in the ape language not to take him away again.

XXIX. The hero is given a new appearance.
Transfiguration.
Tibo calls Tarzan the “God of the Jungle!” and he promises him food so that he may never hunger if he will only let him return to his village with his mother. Tarzan relents, even promising to follow them so that no harm befalls them. Momaya feels exalted for “never before has she walked with God.”

XXX. The villain is punished.
In parallel with this we sometimes have a magnanimous pardon. Usually only the villain of the second move and the false hero are punished, while the first villain is punished only in those cases in which a battle and pursuit are absent from the story.
Tarzan is left alone in the world . . . “for Tarzan there can be none-- neither a she nor a balu. Tarzan of the Apes is a man, and it must be that man walks alone.”

XXXI. The hero is married and ascends the throne.
The story is left open. Bukawai has seen all that happened and he feels cheated out of his price for a spell: three fat goats, a new sleeping mat, and a bit of copper wire.

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Chapter Six - The Witch-Doctor Seeks Vengeance

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This tale begins with Propp’s function VIIIa, which is typical of ERB’s questing tales.
Introduction
Lord Greystoke (William Cecil Clayton) is shooting pheasants at Chamston-Hedding. His hunting and life-style are contrasted with Tarzan’s, who happens to be hunting in Africa at the same time. Tarzan meets a lion at a stream without an incident. It has been a month since the last story in chapter 5.

VIIIa. One member of a family either lacks something or desires to have something.
Tarzan is looking for some relief from the monotony of his existence in such excitement as he might derive from baiting the blacks. This is to be a questing tale.

IX. Misfortune or lack is made known; the hero is approached with a request or command; he is allowed to go or he is dispatched.
This function brings the hero into the tale. If a young girl is kidnapped, and disappears from the horizon of her father, and if Ivan goes off in search of her, then the hero of the tale is Ivan and not the kidnapped girl. Heroes of this type may be termed seekers.
Tarzan goes to the native village and hears a great wailing. He is annoyed at the sound and thinks he might be fun to drop into the village and kill the howling one. (He has already had his revenge for the death of Kala. He now derived excitement and pleasure from baiting the blacks.)
Tarzan recognizes the wailer as Momaya, the mother of Tibo. She throws herself at Tarzan’s feet, babbling in a tongue Tarzan did not understand.

X. The seeker agrees to or decides upon counteraction.
A volitional decision, of course, precedes the search.
Tarzan grows impatient and leaves the village.

XI. The hero leaves home.
Unlike the first absence element, this one is marked with a search for a goal.
Tarzan comes upon some tracks on a game trail. He recognizes Tibo’s footprints, who was led away by an old man with two hyenas. He realizes that Momaya thinks that he has taken Tibo again. He decides to investigate.

XII. The hero is tested, interrogated, attacked, etc., which prepares the way for his receiving either a magical agent or helper
[This episode is in the nature of an interrogation which took place two days ago.]
Bukawai had come to the native village for his payment for returning Tibo. Since he had not been responsible for the return (see chapter 5) Momaya refused to pay, so Bukawai kidnapped the boy.

XIII. The hero reacts to the actions of the future donor.
He performs a service of some kind, such as showing mercy.
Tibo is taken to Bukawai’s cave as a prisoner, and the witch doctor has to defend him against the attack of his hyenas.

XIV. The hero acquires the use of a magical agent. This may be a capacity, such as the power of transformation into animals, etc., or an agent is eaten or drunk.
The hyenas are held behind a rude lattice while Bukawai returns to the village for his payment, which is now higher than before. Tibo sees a second opening in the walls of the cave which suggests a means of escape to him, but he is too frightened to investigate. The hyenas have almost broken the lattice down, and in a moment Tibo will be eaten.

XV. The hero is transferred, delivered, or led to the whereabouts of an object of search.
Generally the object of search is located in “another” or “different” kingdom. This kingdom may lie far away horizontally, or else very high up or deep down vertically. He may fly through the air or find a stairway or underground passageway.
Bukawai returns to Momaya and demands payment again. She refuses, saying that he has taken the child himself. Bukawai tells her than Tarzan (the white jungle god) has taken Tibo. She tells him that she cannot afford the new higher price. Bukawai agrees to make a deal, so three warriors sit down to bargain with him.

XVI. The hero and the villain join in direct combat.
In humorous tales the fight itself sometimes does not occur. The hero and the villain may engage in a competition . The hero wins with the help of cleverness.
Rabba Kega, the local witch doctor engages in a magic contest with Bukawai. Bukawai says that he sees Tibo in great danger, while Rabba Kega says he is already dead at the bottom of the river.

XVII. The hero is branded.
Bukawai is tricked out of his “trance” by Rabba Kega.

XVIII. The villain is defeated.
Mbonga, the chief, does not know who to believe.

XIX. The initial misfortune or lack is liquidated.
The large payment is not made to Bukawai.

XX. The hero returns.
Tarzan comes to Bukawai’s cave in time to save Tibo from the hyenas.

XXI. The hero is pursued.
Tarzan enters the passageway where Tibo is held captive. The hyenas turn upon the ape-man.

XXII. Rescue of the hero from pursuit.
Tarzan does not even deign to draw his hunting knife but throws one of the hyenas across the cavern after its fellow, which is already slinking away.

XXIII. The hero, unrecognized, arrives home or in another country.
Sometimes the initial villainy is repeated, sometimes in the same forms as in the beginning.
Tarzan returns Tibo to Momaya while the natives are still discussing the problem with the two witch doctors.

XXIV. A false hero presents unfounded claims.
Bukawai is in the process of rebutting Rabba Kega’s claim that Tibo is already dead.

XXV. A difficult task is proposed to the hero.
These ordeals are so varied that each would need a special designation.
Both of the witch doctors are greatly embarrassed at the return of Tibo, especially by Tarzan himself.

XXVI. The task is resolved.
There is no further need for argument with the boy plainly before them.

XXVII. The hero is recognized.
This may be a special mark or a simple recognition of accomplishments.
Tarzan vanishes, “as he had a way of doing,” before the natives can say a word to him.

XXVIII. The false hero or villain is exposed.
Bukawai runs from the village as fast as his old legs would carry him.

XXIX. The hero is given a new appearance. Transfiguration.
Tarzan’s ability to vanish in the midst of the village is a true form of jungle magic.

XXX. The villain is punished.
In parallel with this we sometimes have a magnanimous pardon. Usually only the villain of the second move and the false hero are punished, while the first villain is punished only in those cases in which a battle and pursuit are absent from the story.
Momaya hits Rabba Kega across the head with a broken limb screaming, “magic, indeed! Momaya will show you some magic of her own.” She then chases him around the village still beating him across the shoulders to the amusement of everyone.

XXXI. The hero is married and ascends the throne.
This is another open ended story, for Tarzan “added that day two active foes, both of whom remained awake long into the night planning means of revenge.”
Tarzan’s reward comes from the author who comments that he sleeps better than Lord Greystoke in England, “who had eaten too much lobster and drank too much wine at dinner that night.”
This is a strange tale since the order of events are all in place, yet the designation of “hero” does not fit the constantly changing characters. However, this is typical of the comic hero tale, which tends to play loose with the classic forms and with Propp’s functions as well.

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